


love don't die

by pinkish



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Telepathic Bond, they're just telepathically linked, this is not Vex/Vax incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkish/pseuds/pinkish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is just a bunch of ficlets about vax, vex and their awesome twin!powers. Later ficlets will eventually include vax/gilmore and vex/keyleth because <3. Rating will probably (knowing me) go up someday.<br/>entirely inspired by Laura Bailey's playlist: http://geekandsundry.com/critical-role-vexs-soundtrack-a-rhapsody-in-arrows/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. they'll never take my body from your side

There was nothing in the world like fighting alongside her brother. The rest of Vox Machina were wonderful, of course: amazingly skilled, able to sense where they needed to be (or to forgive her if they got caught in her hail of arrows), and knew just what to say to make her smile. But that closeness, that synchronicity, was nothing to the ease with which she and Vax moved through space together. The empty space beside her was always perfectly sized for her brother to slip through. She knew exactly where he planned to be and knew just when to distract his target. When she moved, she did so with the knowledge of where her brother was, and she knew it was the same for him. They’d always lived inside each other’s heads like this -- in fact, they hadn’t known it was strange until they started fighting alongside other people and realized that, actually, most people don’t just know exactly what the other is planning.  
It makes them a dangerous enemy, their movements smooth and in sync, their strategy unspoken, felt inside their bones. 

It makes them vulnerable, too.

When the Briarwoods almost killed her brother, when they brought him down and he was breaths away from death, Vex felt it in every inch of her body. Her heart stopped, her lungs constricted, her muscles shook, and she couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She wanted to run towards him, but her legs refused to work and she could barely summon the strength to lift her bow and loose an arrow.  
Even after he rose, she could feel the grief coursing through her veins, could tell that it was hers and his. She knew he’d never make that mistake again, never be so proud. (But she couldn’t shake the sensation of being alone in her body. She would wake up some nights in a cold sweat, despite the warmth of Trinket at her side, with a scream on her lips that was only silenced by the reassuring presence of Vax in her mind.)  
It took her months to forgive her brother for putting her through that.  
Months and no time at all: he was alive; nothing else mattered.  
Still, she found herself reaching for him more, looking for the reassurance of his quiet presence. He did the same -- she could feel the soft touch of his mind as he melted into the shadows, to remind them both they were still there.  
Still together.


	2. you don't say much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex learns something about her brother and his ... relationship ... with Gilmore.

They had only been at Gilmore’s for a few moments when her brother sauntered into the back office with their sponsor, as he always did.

At this point, Vex would usually close herself off from her brother and he would do the same, to give him privacy, to allow him the moments of vulnerability he shared with Gilmore, but she -- forgot. She forgot, or she could not, or both. As she was trailing Keyleth through the stacks of books, she felt a heat and a tightness in her chest. Immediately, she panicked, flashing back to the sensation of Vax’s life draining from his body, and she readied herself to run towards her brother once again. But --- as she turned, the heat in her chest expanded and suffused her body -- her arms, legs, fingers all tingled and shivered and her panic shifted from fear for her brother’s life to horror at what she was experiencing, at what was being shared with her.

  
Keyleth turned to her, a look of concern marring her face, and Vex tried to pull herself away from her brother. At the touch of Keyleth’s hand on her arm, she managed to bring her mind back into herself and quickly built up a wall that did not so much sever the link as dampen the connection.

  
When Vax and Gilmore finally made their way back into the main room of the store, Vex couldn’t decide whether to laugh or scowl. She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t seen it before: she’d always assumed that their ... meetings ... were purely physical, but now that she’d felt it, she could see it clearly: the gentle touches, the way their bodies moved towards each other constantly, that their eyes never spent much time away from the other’s. Her brother was in _fucking love_.

  
When Vax finally looked her way, she folded her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. The look of confusion on his face almost broke her -- almost pulled a laugh from her chest, but she wasn’t quite ready to let him know what she’d learned. She couldn’t understand why he’d hidden this from her, and -- if she was honest with herself -- she wanted him to suffer a little for hiding something so important.

“Sister, dear,” Vax said as he sidled up to her, “is something the matter?”

“Nothing at all, brother mine.” She affected a haughty tone and pretended to be engrossed in the book on alchemy that Keyleth was currently attempting to haggle for.

  
“Are you sure?” He nudged her shoulder with his, and she could feel the anxiety pouring from him -- she relented.

“I would just appreciate if the next time you’re about to have sex with the man that you _love_ ,” she whispered, knowing full well that Scanlan was eavesdropping, the gossip, “you give me some warning so that I don’t have to feel it.”

  
Vex watched the emotions move across Vax’s face -- she expected the embarrassment, the horror at having made her experience that, but she saw ... confusion? She furrowed her brow at that, and as Vax’s face turned redder and his eyes wider, she realized:

  
“You didn’t know?” She couldn’t stop the squeal in her voice, couldn’t stop the grin from breaking through her scowl.

  
“What?” Vax’s voice broke and he took a step away from her, as if he could defend himself from the revelation.

  
“You didn’t know! I can’t believe you didn’t know! And I figured it out first!” Vex crowed and allowed herself a tiny dance of victory. “I’m _definitely_ the smartest, now!”

  
“You are not the smartest---” Vax was scowling, now, but his face hadn’t lost its red tinge.

  
“Yes I am. How could you possibly not know that you were in _looooooove_?” She drew the last word out and fluttered her eyelashes at her brother.

  
“I’m not--it’s just --- how could you---” Vax spluttered incoherently.

  
“Love, dear brother. It’s got you bad.” She took pity on him and pulled him into a hug. “You’re allowed, you know. It’s okay.”

  
She felt his arms tighten around her, felt his face burrow into the crook of her neck.

  
“Are you sure?” His voice was muffled, but she could still hear the worry, the fear.

  
“Yes, I’m sure.”

  
“Thanks for telling me,” Vax said, removing himself from her arms.

  
“It was hard to ignore. Just--”

  
“Yes?” He asked, eager to make up for -- everything.

  
“Just give me some warning next time. I want to be on the other side of the city when it happens.”


	3. it's not what i say, it's what i do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex doesn't need Vax to tell her how she feels, but she would really like it if he stopped butting into her business.

It wasn't clear if Vax was doing it to annoy her, or if his meddling was his strange way of apologizing for being a giant pain in her ass (in general, but also specifically about that whole... _Gilmore_ incident), but he had been sneaking his way into her personal business an awful lot lately. 

Now, of course, it's hard to have  _personal_ business when you practically share a brain, but they'd always (silently) managed to deal with it. If it seems like something the other person doesn't want your opinion on (and you should be able to tell because of the whole brain-sharing thing), you just don't ever mention it. Ever. It worked most of the time, and when it didn't it was usually something big and important, like someone being an idiot and almost getting himself killed. But this...this was just--

_What the_ fuck _is he doing_ now _?_

Vex's sulking was interrupted when she felt a glimmer of mischief coming from her brother's direction. He was...downstairs somewhere, and he had a  _plan_. She focused on his presence and felt their connection solidify as he let her in, pleased that he'd attracted her attention and smug that she was interested. 

"Keyleth, darling," Vex heard Vax say, "How are you, today?"

"Oh! Vax!" Keyleth looked up from her books and smiled a little absently at Vax, "Wonderful. It's all so wonderful! Did you know that the goodberry fruit---"

"Yes, yes, fantastic, Keyleth," Vax interrupted. "I was thinking that it would be absolutely lovely if we all had a picnic this evening. We've been so busy and stressed lately, and, you know, I really think it would do us some good."

Vex furrowed her brow at this, since she was  _right there_ when Vax made plans with "the boys" to go "carousing" that night. She'd even complained that she clearly wasn't included in the invitation, and he'd ruffled her hair with that insufferable smirk on his face.  _  
_

_Brother, what are you planning?_

_Hush, sister, you clearly aren't going to do anything about this, so I've decided to be a kind older sibling--_

_You're only older by half a minute! It doesn't count!_

_I've decided to be a kind older sibling and sort this out for you._

_I don't need your_ _help_! Vex yelled this across their connection, but Vax ignored her and continued his conversation with Keyleth.

"Don't you think a dinner by the lake would be fantastic? We could do some stargazing, we could talk about old times, we could enjoy each other's company--"

"Oh! Uh," Keyleth blushed, "But you want  _all_ of us to go on this picnic, right?"

Vex laughed at her brother's panic when he realized how Keyleth had misunderstood his plan.

_Serves you right for meddling._

"Yes, of course, Keyleth, I love you dearly, but--"

"Please, Vax, don't -- I'm not good at-- It's just that I--" Keyleth took a breath, "You're like a brother to me! I couldn't--It's not that you aren't---but--"

"Ah, yes, that is good." Vax squirmed uncomfortably as Vex chortled in his mind.

"Good?" Keyleth furrowed her brow, certain that she was missing  _something_ but entirely unsure  _what_.

"Yes. Good. So. Picnic? Tonight? Everyone?"

"Yes?"

"Good."

Keyleth watched Vax make his way out of the room and slowly returned her gaze to her book, though goodberries honestly couldn't quite keep her attention any more. 

***************************************************

As Vax made his way to his sister, she felt his fading embarrassment and she rolled her eyes at his attempt to cover it with a smug grin and a cocky stride.

"You have been  _meddling_ , Vax."

"It's for your own good! You are clearly in love with her, and yet--"

"Unlike  _some people_ ," Vex looked at her brother pointedly, "I don't need  _telling_ about my own feelings. I've made the decision not to do anything and the least you could do is respect that."

Vax looked a little pained at the accusation in her voice, and she couldn't help but relent a little.

"Look, I know you're doing this out of love," Vex reached out a hand to Vax's shoulder, "but I just don't think it's the right time."

"Yes, but," at this, Vax took her hand from his shoulder and held it between his own, "if recent events have taught me anything, it's that the right time is always  _now_."

Vex felt sorrow pour through her body, all the sadness that Vax had been concealing from her, the shame, the fear, the panic that had suffused him in the moment of his all-but-fatal injury. 

"I almost lost you, almost lost everyone, and I hadn't told Gilmore...I hadn't told  _anyone_ how important they are to me. I don't want you to know how that feels, Vex."

"But--"

"It might hurt, yes. It might not be the best time. But--"

_But I can feel how much you love her, sister. I can feel how much you care for her, how much you yearn for her. I just want you to be happy._

Vex sighed, closing her eyes against the tears that welled suddenly. 

_I am happy -- we have a_ family _, Vax. Not just the two of us, but all of us. What if--_

Vax squeezed her hands and pulled her into a hug.

"You worry too much," he said into her hair.  
  
Vex snorted, "Of course I do; I have you as a brother."

***************************************************

 

Vex watched as her brother snuck Scanlan, Grog, and Percy out of the keep and felt the confidence and love he was sending her way as he left. 

Her hands were shaking and her heart was beating too fast. Trinket nuzzled at her side and made a reassuring noise (as much as any noise that comes out of a bear's mouth can be reassuring...), sensing her fear but not sensing any danger.

She squared her shoulders and made her way to where Keyleth was waiting with the basked of food Vax had collected from their pantry. Vex's heart skipped a beat when Keyleth looked at her with a dazzling smile and greeted her with a hug and a flower crown she'd conjured. As Keyleth placed the crown on Vex's head, Vex heard her brother's voice in her mind,  _Go get her, sister. I'll leave you alone now._ She rolled her eyes, forgetting that Keyleth couldn't hear Vax.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong? The crown is silly, I know, but I just thought since we were having a picnic, it might be nice to have some fun! I made them for us, but if you think I should make them for everyone else, or if you don't like it, I can--"

"No, Keyleth, it's lovely. Thank you."

Vex flushed at Keyleth's answering grin: so bright, so full. Keyleth had a heart bigger than Vex could even comprehend -- she was smart, capable, but hadn't let the world turn her mean, turn her cold. When Vex let herself acknowledge it, this was why she'd fallen for Keyleth in the first place. Vex was too used to people who used words to hurt, who made barbs out of promises and spread lies like an illness, but Keyleth -- well. Keyleth meant every word she ever said. Vex wished she could be like that, sometimes. Wished she hadn't been so good at dissembling, so able to turn her words inside out and hide the truth behind them. 

"You're welcome, then. Do you think I should make one for everyone else?"

"Right. Um, I'm sure they'd love a crown, but, um, I think it's just us tonight." Vex looked at a spot on the horizon behind Keyleth, hoping that Keyleth couldn't read the flush on her face.

"Oh?" Keyleth cocked her head to one side, "Vax said it would be everyone."

"Well my brother," Vex made sure to send a stab of annoyance his way, though she doubted he could feel it, "made other plans."

Vex brought her gaze to Keyleth's face, expecting to see the hints of disappointment that would betray Keyleth's feelings, but all she saw was a smile.

"It's been a while since we've spent any time just the two of us," Keyleth said, hooking her arm in Vex's and walking her towards the lake, "I'm glad that Vax forgot about the picnic he planned."

Vex felt her heart swell in her chest and found that she couldn't speak. If she opened her mouth, she was sure she'd say something she would regret, so it was better just to be silent.

"You know," Keyleth said quietly as they settled onto the ground, spreading food around them and breathing in the soft smell of the lake, "I thought that Vax was trying to get me alone tonight."

"Oh?" Vex heard the squeak in her voice and hoped that Keyleth didn't know that it signaled fear.

"I was so worried! I mean, of course I love Vax, but, well..."

"He's like a brother to you, of course." Vex closed her eyes and steeled herself -- she might be in love, she might want to speak the words into Keyleth's skin, but she knew that just because you felt something didn't mean it had to be said out loud. Sometimes things were better left alone. Her brother had never learned that lesson -- or, at least, seemed to have  _un_ learned it, but she knew the value of silence.

"Yes, but..." Keyleth trailed off into silence, "I also--well. It's that--You know I have...I mean to say that..." Keyleth huffed a sigh of annoyance, then turned to Vex with her face set in a determined expression. "I'm glad it's just you and I, and not me and Vax. I was worried that he, um, liked me, not just because I don't feel that way for him, but because I feel that way for  _you_ and do you know how awkward that would be? If I had to explain to someone that I loved his  _sister_ and that's why I didn't reciprocate?" Keyleth shuddered, focused on imagining the pain of that interaction, and therefore missing the expression -- undiluted, unmarred by deception, unfiltered -- of pure shock on Vex's face.

"Could you say that again, Keyleth?" Vex's voice was small, but enough to bring Keyleth back to her.

"I, um. I love you? At least, I think I do. I've never been in love before, but..." Keyleth blushed and lowered her head -- Vex might not be able to hear her, feel her the same way that she could sense her brother, but she didn't have to. She reached her hand towards Keyleth's chin and lifted her face. 

Vex smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips against Keyleth's until she was sure that Keyleth understood.

_I love you too._

 

 


End file.
